


No Supervision

by jadewolf



Series: Adventures of Team Crab [8]
Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Gen, Giant Murder Crab, Graphic Violence, People Getting Eaten, Ripekanga, Rīpekanga!Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-08 08:57:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21233171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadewolf/pseuds/jadewolf
Summary: A giant crab monster, left unsupervised, is bound to break the rules and help himself to forbidden snacks.





	No Supervision

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Tamatoa Tuesday!! I've had this one sitting in the to-be-posted pile for a little while. Finally shined it up and posted it tonight!
> 
> A little break from the fluffy sweetness of late, please enjoy a little bit of a gory throwback. It's been a while since I sent my favorite crab on some murderous mealtime mayhem, we were overdue for one! And I love to play with a little reminder that Tamatoa is a _monster_ and loves his forbidden snacks. ;) XD

It had been three centuries since Tamatoa, along with Aiata and Tuahangata, had fled to Lalotai. In all that time, and despite a few challenges here and there and a clawful of crises, Tamatoa had grown quite comfortable in his new life. Lalotai was vast and bountiful.Food was plentiful and they lacked for nothing.

And yet, there were times where he was not content with all that. Tamatoa was the nostalgic sort and, while he had found plenty to love about his new home, there were some things he still yearned for--still dreamed about.

It was those delicious old memories that he dreamed about today, sleeping in the warm, sunny spot below the lair’s skylight. He was alone in the lair today.Aiata and Tuahangata were away, exploring together as they sometimes did.Tamatoa never begrudged his mate her personal time, of course, just as she never took offense when he needed some time alone as well. It simply meant that he could claim the best sleeping spot for a week or so until she returned.

So a faint hint of movement and a shift in the air filtered through his sleepy haze, Tamatoa initially assumed it was Aiata returning at last.

A lazy smile spread on his face, still submerged in the fine-grained sand of the lair’s floor. But as he grew more alert, he quickly realized that it was _not_ Aiata who had disturbed him.

His antennae rose from where they lay upon the ground, tasting the air with slow, deliberate sweeps. His eyes widened, ever so slightly, when he detected a familiar, but shockingly uncommon, scent in the lair.

_Humans_.

There were _humans_ in his lair.

It had been at least a hundred years or more since the last time he had seen a human in Lalotai. They were not, by any means, a common visitor to the Realm of Monsters.But when they did...

He slit his eyes open, not yet rising from where he lay loosely buried in the sand. The lair was indeed empty of its usual inhabitants.Aiata and Tuahangata’s scents were both faded by two days. The _human_ scents, however, were fresh and active. Keeping his shell motionless and head down, he raised his eyes and scanned what he could see of the sunlit lair—seeking the intruders. Unfortunately, they were outside the range of his vision from this position.He would have to move to spot them.

Not yet, though. He wasn’t ready to reveal himself just yet.

He let his eyes fall closed and his antennae drift, painstakingly slowly, and focused solely on the scents and sounds of his quarry.

There were more than one. Three unique scents, two most likely closely related. All three were male.None of them smelled of fear nearly as much as they ought to, given their impending circumstances.

Tamatoa did not know at exactly what point he had decided he would be eating these human interlopers. He had, after all, been asked long ago by Tuahangata to leave humans alone.But he had not made any such _promise_. Not _really_. Of course, Aiata had _asked_ him to try and _respect_ their demigod friend and Tamatoa had agreed.

And Tamatoa _did_ respect him, to some degree. He respected his ability to create fire and cook meat. And his handiwork with a spear in a fight.He respected that Aiata was never going to give up Tua as a friend.

He just didn’t respect Tua’s _wishes_.

Tamatoa had lived far too long with humans as a primary food source to ever see them as anything _but_ prey. And he was also far too nostalgic to pass up an opportunity to indulge in his old favorite food again. Even if it _would_ upset their demigod companion.

But Tua wasn’t here. The demigod could no longer sense the whereabouts of humans and he wasn’t _here_. They weren’t due back for at least a week and would be none the wiser.

Unsupervised and unfettered, an impish grin tugged at Tamatoa’s lips.

The fate of these humans was already decided. Now the only question was how, precisely, to go about it.

There was a rustle of movement behind him, a murmur of hushed voices. Tamatoa held perfectly still, tucking his face back into the sand and leaving only his antennae uncovered, sprouting like striped sprigs of tall grass from the ground. Resembling nothing but a monstrous pile of treasure, he listened.

\---

“Is that it, Anaru? Is that _Maui’s fishhook?_”

“What else could it be, Nikora? Just look at it!”

“But I heard it was lost, with Maui himself, to the sea…”

“That’s not what _I_ heard. I heard Maui was killed trying to crawl into the _maunene _of a…”

“No, Matiu! Both of you, hush!” the one called Anaru scolded. “I know the _truth_. An enormous monster stole it. And that right there is it!”

“Okay, but if that’s the hook, where is the _monster?_”

“Who cares. Do you see a monster here? No monster, no problem.”

“But what if it’s nearby…”

“Then we kill it and are forever known as the men who slayed the beast!”

“But, Anaru… if it was able to steal from _Maui_, how could _we_…”

“Quiet. Let’s just go get it and get out of here.”

\---

It was difficult for Tamatoa to keep from laughing. Humans were so _dumb_. And yet, he was terribly pleased to learn that somewhere on the surface they were talking about him—the monster who defeated Maui! He wanted to know what _else_ they were saying about him up there.

Maybe, if these humans were _very_ lucky, he’d let them tell him all the juicy details. That is, before he turned them into juicy snacks, anyway.

And, of course, there wasn’t going to be any mercy for these humans. Even had he not already had them in mind as an early breakfast, the very fact that they intended to _steal_ from him—his prize fishhook no less!—was more than enough just cause to put an end to them. That simply would not do.

He heard more movement, the patter of tiny, fleshy feet. They had split up and were edging around the perimeter of his shell, likely looking for a good place to climb up. He could feel the vibrations from their footfalls as they walked over where his legs were buried in the sand.He could smell the musky odor of their sweat and the metallic aroma of the blood pulsing through their veins.

Tamatoa’s antennae quivered with building excitement. It had been _so long _since the last time he had hunted this prey. And, unlike the centuries on Rīpekanga, he didn’t have to go _looking_ for the humans. They had come to _him_. Just like the fish circling overhead, the greedy little humans were drawn to his gleaming shell and, like those fish, they would meet a similar fate.

_Yes, little humans, come in closer._

There was a gentle pressure and a faint warmth as one of the humans stepped tentatively upon his shell. Moments later, it was followed by a second human.They both began to ascend, while the third remained on the sand.

“Look at this stuff!” one breathed. Tamatoa felt the human reach down to pick up an enormous pearl. “We should take some of this, too.”

“Sure, whatever,” the one called Anaru replied dismissively. He was the one who had first stepped up and was climbing the fastest.

“Nikora, brother, get up here! You gotta see this!” the second called.

“I dunno…”

Tamatoa had been hoping to get them all grouped together before he struck. Catching all three at once removed the chance of any escaping.But it seemed the third was _shy._

And Tamatoa was _impatient_. Eager energy was coursing through him, vibrating through to the very ends of his antennae. He was barely keeping himself contained, barely preventing his shell from trembling with excitement.

The two who were climbing his shell were nearly to the top now, almost within grabbing distance of his precious hook.

Tamatoa could bear the wait no longer. 

Blood singing with primal exultation, he sprang from the sand and shook it off in a shimmering cascade of golden grains. The two humans on his back stumbled, then fell, as the ground was torn from under them.The human on the ground shrieked and scurried out of sight, disappearing into a shadowed corner of the lair.

But Tamatoa’s attention was on the two scrambling to stand on their suddenly unstable footing. “Well, well, well.What have we here?” he crooned to them, reaching behind him with his claws.

The one that called itself Matiu was easily caught, plucked deftly from his shell with a quick snap of his claw as it fled pell-mell down towards the ground. The human struggled fruitlessly against his grasp, babbling fearfully.

Tamatoa simply held it securely and paid it no heed.

The other human was far more slippery, hastily dodging his swipes and rushing towards the rear of Tamatoa’s shell and out of reach of his front claws.

“Oho, where do you think _you’re_ going?” Tamatoa questioned, more amused than annoyed.

After his last molt, Tamatoa now stood slightly more than forty feet tall. A normal, mortal human would not likely survive a fall of that height.The human seemed to realize this, skidding to a halt at the lip of Tamatoa’s shell, right above where his abdomen curled under his body.

“Long drop, isn’t it?” he called back, casting a wicked grin over his shoulder to the stymied human.

Then Tamatoa dipped his shell, giving his rear a little shimmy to dislodge the hitchhiker.

The human yelped, losing his feet and falling amid the myriad of glittering treasures. It didn’t fall off, though.Instead, the human clung as tenacious as a barnacle.

“Hey!” Tamatoa huffed, _now_ starting to get a little annoyed. “Leggo!”

He reached up with his smaller rear claws, attempting to snatch at an arm or a leg or, at the very least, startle the human into reach. It was no use, though.He knew that his hind pincers couldn’t reach that high and the human seemed to know that it had found a safe spot to huddle.

Tamatoa’s eyes narrowed, irritated. “Fine then,” he huffed.He would have to find _another_ way to dislodge the human.

He noticed that neither of these humans carried any weapons—no clubs, no knives, no dreaded _spears_. It was all rather unusual, but Tamatoa was not about to question his good fortune. It just meant that the human clinging to his backside couldn’t do much to hurt him back there.

The sound of yelling broke into his thoughts and Tamatoa’s enormous eyes blinked in surprise. He had almost forgotten about the human held firmly in his claw.It fluttered and squirmed like a trapped insect, beating its tiny hands ineffectively against the thick exoskeleton.

A disingenuous smile slid onto Tamatoa’s face.

“Well,” he began with syrupy, false congeniality as he leaned in close to the captured human. “Your friend isn’t being a very good guest.So rude.No manners at all.First trying to steal _my _hook, and then hanging on like a parasite.” He clicked his tongue in faux disappointment. “Such a shame, too.I so rarely get visitors.” Then he grinned, showing all his teeth at very close range to the human. “Looks like I’ll just have to get better acquainted with _you_ instead.”

The human leaned back, shying away from him as best as it could. It put its hands up in a feeble attempt to keep him away, still blubbering desperate nonsense.

Tamatoa’s antennae arched forward, hovering over the little snack and drinking in deep the delicious scent of fear, underlaid by the richness of mammalian blood. So close and so enticing, he could almost _taste_ it already. It was difficult to hold himself back, but he wanted to _savor_ the experience.

And, he mused while examining the quaking human in his grasp, they seemed so _small_ these days. With every molt Tamatoa grew larger, but humans always stayed the same size. When he had fled Rīpekanga, a trio of humans like this was plenty to make a filling meal. But now?After a few centuries of living well on the hearty fare of Lalotai?He had grown so much larger and his needs had grown with him. Once upon a time, humans were huge and terrifying to him.But now, they were almost _tiny_. Matter of fact, Tamatoa was willing to bet he could fit a whole human in his mouth all at once now.

No sooner had the thought occurred to him than Tamatoa found himself putting the notion into practice. There was a shrill shriek that was swiftly muffled and a wild thrashing against his tongue.The human did indeed fit! Then he closed his teeth upon the struggling morsel, tearing through flesh and splintering bone.

The screaming cut off and there was a delectable hot splash of blood. He smiled around his mouthful, eyes half lidded with culinary bliss.Yes, he had _missed_ this—the metallic tang of iron-bearing blood, the rich, fatty meat, and that delicate crunch of bone within. If monsters were not meant to enjoy such fine delicacies, why were they so delicious?

He tried not to be disappointed when the moment had passed and he had swallowed his mouthful. They really _were_ much smaller now, he reflected. Had he not had such an overwhelming fondness for the flavor, he would never bother hunting such a diminutive creature these days. Not when he could bring down a massive _huepaa_—quite possibly his favorite Lalotai prey—and have a generous feast for both himself _and_ Aiata. With leftovers to spare!

Nostalgia had a way of overriding reason, however, and his attentions were quickly redirected to the remaining two humans.

The one clinging to the rear of his carapace had elected to fill the auditory gap left behind by its companion by taking up the shrieking where the other had left off. It wailed and shouted and howled vile curses that only made Tamatoa chuckle softly.

“Yelling won’t help, you know,” he scolded the noisy human. Then he grinned.“Now it’s time for you to… let... _go!_”

And with that, he launched into a fast spin, twirling in the center of the lair until the walls were awash in a dazzling spray of golden light from his decorated shell. The human squealed, clinging desperately to the glittering edge of Tamatoa’s carapace.

The little creature’s tiny hands began to slip. Tamatoa’s grin grew wider.

When the human was flung off, Tamatoa was ready—completing the circle, reaching out with a claw, and snapping it out of the air with a deft precision.

“Gotcha.”

He smiled a crooked smile, actually quite impressed with himself. It wasn’t _easy_ to make a catch like that! And so delicately!The human was still in one piece, gasping for breath but mostly undamaged. He wondered if he could pull off the same trick again.Usually, he didn’t like to play with his food, but he was trying to make this moment _last_. With how small the humans were now, it would be over in just one gulp—too soon to part with the smells and flavors of such a rare treat!

And so Tamatoa gave it a wicked, narrow-eyed look, his lip curling to show his blood-streaked teeth.

“Go two for two?” he proposed airily, as if the human had any real input.

Without waiting for a reply from the winded creature, he gave it a playful wink and then tossed it high in the air. As it arced towards the lair’s cavernous ceiling, it tried to shriek.The sound came out as a thin whine instead, ending with a heavy whoosh of expelled air as it was caught again—this time in Tamatoa’s other claw.

“Not bad,” he mused, giving the human an expectant look—waiting for the praise he’d surely earned.

But the human was wheezing, trying to force air into its little lungs. There was no more flailing; it didn’t even have the energy to protest now. This game was just about over, Tamatoa supposed.

For one final time, he flung the human high up into the air. He kept his eyes on it, tracking its motion.He shifted his position, just a step to the left.

The human landed neatly in his mouth.

His teeth came down and Tamatoa was once again treated to that delightful burst of flavor and texture that he had so craved over the past few centuries. Warm blood ran down his chin, dribbling onto the golden sand below.A few shreds of flesh joined it, staining the floor of the lair.

Tamatoa would have to clean that up. While he had no shame, nor compunctions, about what he did and did not eat, he would rather avoid strife with their demigod roommate when he returned. If he stirred up trouble with Tuahangata, Aiata would be upset.And Tamatoa didn’t want that.

But for now, he was too busy enjoying himself. And while the humans weren’t as filling a treat as they once were, he was nonetheless quite pleased. Rather than an entree, he rationalized, they were more like fine _hors d'oeuvres_. Tamatoa licked his lips, savoring every last drop.

Ah, but there was still one more left!

With his antennae extended forward, he sought the scent of the human who had run when Tamatoa first emerged. It was still here, he knew that much.The scent was strong, lingering in the darkened corners.

But it was _hiding_.

There were not many places for a creature to hide within the enormous lair, but there were a handful of ledges that provided shelter both above and below to smaller prey. It was there he sought the escapee.

“Come out, come out,” he sing-songed with faux conviviality.

The human did no such thing, but it was hardly necessary anyway. Within moments Tamatoa had located the last human, wedged into a narrow crack in the lair’s wall. There wasn’t much space in the crack, but this human had somehow crammed itself into it.It looked terribly uncomfortable, though. The human had forced itself into the small gap by turning sideways and squeezing itself in, but there was barely room for the human to breathe--much less move or escape from its hiding place. In choosing such a spot, it had effectively locked itself into a place with no way out.

Of course, the flip side of it was that Tamatoa could not reach in with his massive claws and _extract_ the human, either. He couldn’t even have fit an antennae between the wall and the human, much less a pincer.

Tamatoa leaned down, bringing his eye up _right_ outside of the crack to peer in at the cornered human.

“I _seeeeeee_ you!” he taunted with a toothy grin.

His teasing earned him a sharp poke in the eye.

“AAGH!” he yelped, yanking his eye away from the hole in the wall.

The human withdrew its arm just as quickly.

“Augh! You rotten little thing,” Tamatoa groused, turning one eye to examine the other. It was already blue-tinged, inflamed and irritated.Nevertheless, he had likely suffered no long term damage. Still, he cursed with vented spleen.“You cretin!You... you… _eye poker!_”

Tamatoa huffed, unable to find a sufficiently bad thing to call the wretch.

He was annoyed now. This was his favorite food and he wanted to _enjoy_ it. He certainly did not want to get poked in the eye by it!

Injured eye still squinting, he glared down at the trapped human. “That wasn’t very nice,” he grumbled.“But if you want to play it like _this_,” he smiled, twisting his lip into something full of bad intentions. “Well, two can play at that game.”

He reached back to his shell, carefully picking up the long, curved tusk of a massive boar monster. Aiata had slain the boar and given him the tusk as a present, then Tamatoa had decorated it with a pair of golden bands he had found in a shipwreck before adding it to his collection.

It was a lovely piece, but right now it also was a _useful_ one.

With the tusk in his claw, Tamatoa grinned nastily. Taking aim, he jabbed the pointed end into the crack. The human wedged inside gave a very gratifying yelp in response.

“See? How do you like it? It’s no fun when someone’s poking at _you_, is it?”

Tamatoa did it again--not hard enough to seriously damage the human, but enough to make it crystal clear that the eye-poking was not acceptable. The human cried out again, but didn’t budge from its hiding spot.He gave it one more prod, just for good measure and to get his point across.

But Tamatoa didn’t want to just stand here all day and harass the little mammal. No, he wanted his _snack_. So, rather than poke at the thing further, he changed his technique. Tilting the tusk, he dug it, point down, into the crack over the human’s head.

The human took up a frantic wailing, clearly realizing what Tamatoa was up to. There was a scrambling and flailing of little legs and arms, but it was no use.Angling the tusk in between the human and the back of its hiding place, it was light work to lever the tenacious creature out.

Out, and right into Tamatoa’s waiting claw.

“Aha!” he crowed. “Caught you!”

Pleased and grinning, he held the wiggling human fast in his claw. There would be no escape now, nor any further _eye poking_.

In no hurry, Tamatoa returned his precious boar tusk to its spot on his shell and considered the tiny morsel in his grasp. He held the human up to better look at it, though he kept his eyes well out of its arms’ reach.

“You know,” he told it, “I used to hunt your kind all the time. Once I got big enough that they had stopped hunting _me_, of course.” He flicked his antennae dismissively, casting aside the memories of _those_ early days when he was small and drab.

“Used to be my primary food source, you know? Humans everywhere, always wandering alone into the woods.” They had been _so numerous_ in those days; there had always been more sailing to Rīpekanga and venturing into his forest.

“Not so many of them make it down to Lalotai, though.” Except that one time when there had been hundreds, but that was a different story.

Tamatoa glanced at the human to see if it was properly appreciating his tale. The human didn’t _look_ particularly attentive, too busy squirming and fighting uselessly against Tamatoa’s immensely strong pincer. He shrugged and continued anyway.

“And I’m not _supposed_ to be sampling the wares even when they _do_ wander in, even if it _is_ my favorite food” he huffed, a touch bitterly. “You see, we’ve got this _roommate_ who _likes_ your kind.” He rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t want me eating his precious mortals.”

The human had paused, its wailing tapering off and its struggles lessened. It looked up at him with wide eyes, almost hopeful for release.

Tamatoa grinned.

“But he’s not here right now.”

He licked his teeth, long and slow. The human’s hope vanished in an instant, replaced by visceral fear.

“And I just love free food.”

\---

It was good to be _home_, Aiata reflected as the lair came back into view, rising majestically on the horizon. Her excursion out beyond their territory with Tuahangata had been a wonderful time, but she was eager to return to the familiar comforts of her soft, sandy bedding and, more importantly, Tamatoa’s energetic presence.

The sun was well up by the time they reached the massive shell structure. The hidden entryway was closed.She found the edge and, quietly so as to not wake Tama if he was sleeping, swung the curving wall open.

As expected, Tamatoa was asleep, nestled comfortably in the warmest patch of sand beneath the open skylight. Unexpected, however, was the faint scent that reached her antennae as she stepped inside.Surprised, she cast a quick, surreptitious glance around the lair, seeking the source of the unusual smell. But no, the scent was days old, already fading away, and there was no trace of the creatures that had left it.

No trace, that is, except for the smugly satisfied smile Tamatoa wore, even in sleep.

_Oh, Tama_, she thought to herself. _What _have_ you been up to?_

Then there was a rustle of movement beside her. She frowned, eyes flicking briefly to Tuahangata, who was walking into the lair by her side. Aiata was well aware that human-like creatures had a very poor sense of smell, but she was never sure just _how_ bad it was. There was no indication on the demigod’s face that anything was amiss, however. Instead, he merely smiled up at her.

“I’ll leave you two to get caught up,” he whispered, with what he must have intended as a _knowing_ wink.

But if he _really_ knew, Aiata doubted he would be giving her such a cheerful wave before turning to go back to his own separate chamber.

Then Aiata was left alone with her smug mate, still slumbering.

She would have preferred to just snuggle down into the sand beside him and get some sleep herself, but first she had to be certain he’d covered his tracks well enough.

Her antennae arched forward, seeking more details. The scent pooled in several locations, but there was, thankfully, no visible signs of human presence. Any blood or shreds of flesh had been expertly cleared away, leaving only the invisible traces behind.At least he had been prudent there, even if he was so brazen as to make such contentious kills right within their lair.

There was one last thing, however, before she could relax. She needed to make _sure_ that he’d disposed of anything else incriminating. That there was no new piece of treasure or discarded weapon that might raise questions. And that meant waking Tamatoa up.

She reached out with a leg to nudge him. He stirred, shifting in the sand.A moment later his eyes slid open, looking up to settle on her with a warm smile.

“Welcome home,” he murmured, sleepy but sincere.

Despite his troublemaking, she couldn’t help but smile back. She leaned down to greet him properly, lovingly brushing her antennae against his. He hummed softly with pleasure at her touch, leaning into it.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

Her lip quirked at the corner. “I missed you too,” she replied, still unable to really be mad at him.

He hooked the tip of a leg around hers, giving her a gentle tug. “Come lay down,” he beckoned, shifting over to make more space under the watery sunlight. His antennae rubbed lightly against hers, sending a pleasant shiver running through her.

“In a moment,” she told him, not letting him distract her just yet. “But first, Tama…”

She never got to ask her question; Tamatoa was one step ahead of her. “I cleaned everything up,” he assured, voice low.“Don’t worry.”

She quirked a skeptical eye. “You’re sure?” she pressed, ignoring for a moment the pull of his leg on hers.

“Positive.” A claw lifted from the sand, held straight up in a dramatic gesture of promise. He grinned.

This wasn’t a joking matter, though. Did Tama really need the reminder about the seriousness at stake? “If he finds out…”

“He won’t,” Tamatoa said firmly, pulling her insistently towards the sand again.

Her frown returned. “I know you miss that kind of prey—” She didn’t dare say the word ‘human’ aloud, even in a whisper, with Tua next door. “—but _right here_ in the lair? Tama, that’s asking for trouble.”

“Hey, I didn’t _bring_ them here. They just showed up while I was sleeping. Tried to steal my hook,” he said in his own defense. “Not gonna pass up free food!”

Aiata sighed. The difficult thing was that she _agreed_ with him. To a monster, humans were no different from any other creature. Those dumb enough to wander into a larger predator’s midst were destined to become lunch. But to Tuahangata, humans were something _more_ and she at least made an effort to respect his wishes. She didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship by forcing this issue into the open. It was frustrating, though.Balancing these conflicting ideologies put her in a bad position.

“I know,” she finally conceded to Tamatoa. “Meat is just meat.But... be careful._Please_,” she pleaded.

His lip curled into a lopsided smile. “I will, don’t worry.”He tugged at her leg again. “Now, c’mon, you’ve had a long trip.Time to rest.”

This time, she let herself be guided down to the sand beside him. As soon as she was settled, he shifted closer.Nestled snugly against her, he leaned into her weight and laid his antennae alongside hers. It was comfortable and pleasant.

“There, isn’t that better?” he murmured, nudging her with the edge of his shell.

Her smile began to return. “It is,” she agreed, leaning lightly against him with a sigh. “Well, was it at least as good as you remember?” she asked.After all, it _was_ his favorite food. She had the luxury of still enjoying her favorites after their relocation to Lalotai--fish were found in abundance here. Despite the tension it caused with Tuahangata, she could not fault her mate for wanting to indulge a little.

He grinned wide, showing all his teeth. It was more than answer enough.“You want me to save you some next time?” he offered.

Aiata nearly choked. “Tama!” she admonished in a harsh whisper. She could just imagine the utter disaster it would be if Tua found him hoarding humans for later.

“I take that as a no?” Tamatoa asked with faux innocence, only to be met with a sharp look. He snickered.“Right, right._Careful_. I got it.”

She wasn’t entirely sure he _did_ get it, but she was mollified nevertheless--for now, anyway. She knew that someday this was going to become a serious issue. Humans were a rare enough occurrence in Lalotai, though, that perhaps it might never come to a real head. She hoped so.But for now, there was peace among them and Aiata intended to keep it that way.


End file.
